The Cruise-Ade to the Capitol on February 12th brought hundreds of concerned motorcycle and car enthusiasts. They were there to voice concern over the way their rights are being stripped away. This huge turnout was brought about because Randy Snyder, owner/editor of Southland’s Full Throttle magazine, teamed up with ABATE of Georgia to inform the public and the politicians that the Department of Revenue was denying us of our rights (See last month’s issue of Full Throttle and ABATE newsletter.)

It was really a breath of fresh air to see hundreds of people responding to the call. There was a good representation from a lot of clubs, groups, associations and just plain ol’ bikers. The Capitol Police initially only shut down two lanes on Washington Street but they soon discovered that all four lanes would be needed due to the size of the crowd. Thank you to those of you who came! ABATE represents all of you, each and every year, at the Capitol.

Our Legislative Director, Ed “Yankee” Andross, and Assistant Legislative Director Linda Allen, did a fine job with setting up our agenda for the morning. Senator Regina Thomas, Representative Alan Powell and Representative John Yates addressed us, pledging their support for our bills in the Senate and the House. Many of our other friends at the Capitol could not address us due to the fact they were in meetings.

Walter Fuller, President of the National Street Rod Association, addressed the crowd and explained that they are 100% behind us in our efforts. He apologized for their low turnout due to the short notice of the event.

A special thank you goes to Representative Alan Powell for sponsoring House Bill 950 and it’s rewording to address our concerns.

We will be back, Lord willing, on Sunday, May 4th of this year. Yes, it will be on a weekend for all of you could not attend due to work. Please join us for our Rally for Your Rights May 3-4 at the Senoia Speedway in Senoia. Visit our website at www.abatega.org for more information on this event and other biker friendly legislation that we have going on this year.